"Those who are occupied in the restoration of health to others, by the joint exertion of skill and humanity, are above all the great of the earth. They even partake of divinity, since to preserve and renew, is almost as noble as to create." —Voltaire, a French Philosopher.
In India, there is an old saying that doctors are second to god on this earth. As doctors are humankind's eternal need, they were sought and pampered even in earlier times. It is such a sophisticated job to dedicate one's knowledge in the domain of medical science to identify the medical issue faced by the patient and then use its skill to either prevent or cure it.
Such a heavy sentence, isn't it? Yes, it is that for real. It is not any effortless chore to become a doctor. It requires a kid to invest a lot of dedication, determination, effort, and time to climb the first step on the ladder of becoming a doctor. They spend most of their 20's and early 30's trying to pass through rigorous examinations throughout their undergrad, medical education, and residency. Physicians dedicated their whole lives to collect information and cure or prevent every disease they had encountered, even in the past. It is actually that heavy.
Some people recognize the sacrifices made by doctors and respect their efforts to save our lives, but there are still a vast number of people with backward thinking and zero morals who do not understand an essential thing that there are circumstances sometimes that even a veteran doctor fails to do anything. Sometimes it is beyond human reach to save another person who is on the verge of death. Some people fail to understand that doctors are second to god, not actual gods.
A few days back, some disturbing events of violence against doctors and other medical fraternity occurred; there was hardly any talk about it on the internet and amongst the media. However, such violent cases have been happening not just now during the pandemic situation but for a very long time and not just in India but worldwide. Nevertheless, unfortunately, such news was never given any preference by the media channels because our society bends more towards issues where there is politics.
An ongoing study by Indian Medical Association(IMA) reports that 75 percent of doctors in India have confronted violence at some point in their medical life, and most of the time, it was verbal abuse and disrespectful words. Emergency wards and Intensive Care Unit are the most violent venues, and visiting hours are the most violent time. Very often, those who misbehaved in any medical fraternity were patients themselves who were under the influence of alcohol or drugs were delivered or were in psychiatry wards. For many government hospitals and primary health centers across the country, violence by patients' relatives and local goons, political leaders, and even police have been reported, but none of them come out in front as other social issues do.
However, now it is time that these kinds of incidents are stopped. Even the pseudo-intellectuals have realized the importance and need of medical field workers during the pandemic situation. To make a difference, it must be everyone's contribution.
Responsibility of the patient family and society:
The patient’s family must understand that modern medicine is neither cheap nor 100 percent effective in curing the disease in all cases. There should not be an over-expectation on the outcome of the treatment in a critical case. Some patients will make it, and some will not. It must be known that vandalism and violence in a hospital or a clinic is a serious criminal offense, and any civilized society must have zero tolerance for such heinous acts and must be reported.
Responsibility of the government and political parties:
A primary reason for violence against doctors is incapability due to the government hospitals' lack of resources and facilities. Until now, the funds that were put by the government in the medical field were never enough to establish an efficient medical environment. One percent of GDP is not enough for the population, which increased five times after independence. Therefore, the government must concentrate its activities and invest in preventive medicine to reduce the burden on hospitals. Apart from eliminating the cause, the government should also punish the unlawful behavior of anybody who harms the doctor and vandalizes the hospital and should pass more stringent laws for such activities.
Responsibility of the media:
Media has been seen tossing issues that comprise typical political issues and adding spice to them; whenever there is any mistake from the medic’s side, the doctors are harassed and blamed for medical negligence, but the media never creates enough fuss to make it stop when it comes to activities such as violence against medical field workers. Instead, media, both print and electronic, should spread positive thoughts about our doctors and their sacrifices. They should tell the common public that it is not easy for a doctor to see its patients in pain and see them die; media should explain the trauma that comes with this job and tell people not to make it more difficult for the doctors, especially in situations like current times.
Conclusion:
Even though the cases of violence against doctors and other medical field workers are not commonly heard, but that does not mean they are rare. Such incidents have frequently increased in the past few days. Ways to prevent these kinds of situations have been discussed above in this article. There is a requirement for a comprehensive longitudinal study across the country to recognize the prevalence, nature, and regional differences in violence committed against doctors. There is no sanity to wait now to stop this violence against doctors and take preventive measures.
